Euro-Arab Ties Pave Way for Mutual Understanding
(Staff Reporter)ABU DHABI - An Abu Dhabi-based French diplomat emphasised on the fruitful and reliable cooperation between the European countries and the Arab world to strengthen ties.
Professor Dr Didier Gazagnadou, counsellor for cooperation and cultural affairs at the French Embassy, strongly refuted Samuel Huntington’s theses regarding the clash of civilisations where the world has been cut into seven or eight civilisations, namely Chinese, Japanese, Hindu, Islamic, Western, Latin American, African and probably Buddhist. He considered such restriction on the number of civilisations as a ‘stupid’ and baseless theory.
Dr Gazagnadou delivered a lecture titled ‘Dialogue of Civilizations between Yesterday and Today’ at the Cultural and Media Centre in the Capital.
The lecture was held in commemoration of the fifth anniversary of the death of Shaikh Zayed on the directives of Shaikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President’s Representative, and chairman of the Cultural and Media Centre.
Gazagnadou hailed the degree of cultural and scientific co-operation between the UAE and France pointing out to the project initiated between Abu Dhabi and Paris known as ‘Luis Le Grand’ that consists of training outstanding Emirati students in physics and mathematics in France.
Dr Gazagnadou said, “We would not alienate any country that wants to extend the hand of friendship to us because friendship is the path to the progress and happiness of the world. It is necessary to bring about a fruitful and on-going discussion and continuous and reliable cooperation between the European countries and the Arab countries.” All the Arab countries want from Europe is for it to always support the causes of truth and justice. Europe and the Arab countries are tied together by firm historical and cultural bonds and common interests, he said.
As for the contemporary period, things are rather different, Dr Gazagnadou said, “The dialogue among cultures and civilisations is obviously different and more sophisticated because it is initiated by international organisations such as UNESCO, or NGOs, states, intellectuals and scholars.
He suggested that the dialogue of civilisations is double-faced, with one intellectual face which is abstract and which represents the theoretical face of the dialogue such as the discussions held in the UNESCO under this theme; whereas the other face, the concrete face, takes form in cooperation among countries or organisations.
Dr Hamad Ali, information advisor to Shaikh Sultan said, the opening of the French church in Abu Dhabi recently is a true reflection of this tolerance climate.